Home Cooking and Sweet Corn Ice Cream

September 8, 2008

There’s just something about a home-cooked meal that just can’t beat restaurant food.

While Joe and I were dating – well, we’re still “dating”; I guess I mean when it was just us, before his kids came along – we ate out. A LOT.

It’s been fun to eat at nice places and actually enjoy the menu! Growing up, if my family and I “ate out” at all, it was at such fine establishments as the Waffle House or the local Truck Stop. Mostly we ate home-cooked meals. Pot roast with taters and carrots. Fried chicken and mashed potatoes with chicken gravy. Meatloaf with beans ‘n’ taters. And always, ALWAYS, biscuits and gravy. It wasn’t a meal without biscuits and gravy. Same meals, week in, week out. No surprises. Our dinners were always predictable. Mom didn’t get much chance to try new recipes. But that’s a different story.

Even on the rare occasion we did get to actually eat out at a “nice” restaurant – and anything a step above the Truck Stop was what we called “nice” -- I remember having to always stick with the basics: burgers and fries, sandwiches, simple meats and vegs – you know, the plainer, less expensive choices on the menu. We didn’t have the money to try this drink, or that pasta, or this appetizer, or that dessert – you know, something new and different! We had to stay within a budget, so I had to scale down my tastes.

Now though, with Joe treating me out and spoiling me so much, it’s hard NOT to eat what I want when I can! It’s as if I’m making up for lost time. And it’s showing – around my waistline. And my hips. And my double-chin. And my bathroom scales.

I have finally realized, in the wisdom of adulthood, that restaurants are in business to SELL FOOD. Their job is to make food TASTE GOOD. And if they have to use fats or oils or sugars to accomplish their purposes and you gain weight eating their food, well, that’s not their problem.

I think that many of us, by the time we reach our 40s, begin to appreciate so many things we took for granted (or downright hated) growing up. Like – yep -- home-cooked meals. More than ever before, I find myself craving a good home-cooked meal. And, now that I’m a mom trying to raise 3 healthy children, the home-cooked meal has even more appeal to me. Not only is it better for you, but has the added bonus of being less expensive!

Hmmm… maybe my mother was on to something. Maybe I should try cooking meals at home more often.

Here’s something different: sweet corn ice cream. I certainly wouldn’t have ever found that in my mom’s kitchen. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen it on a restaurant menu, either.

Ever tried sweet corn ice cream? I’d heard of it on some channel – the food channel or OETA, something like that – and it sounded so good. I tried a recipe I found on the internet to top off a homemade meal I fixed for dinner Friday evening. I fixed a Mexican dinner – ground beef with onions, garlic, and seasonings, chopped lettuce and tomatoes, sliced olives, and homemade salsa (Ro-Tel with onion, garlic, and fresh cilantro), with warmed taco and tostado shells to pile it all on. Mmm-Mmm, Better than Taco Mayo or Chelino’s!

Finally it was time for dessert! Here’s a recipe for sweet corn ice cream from myrecipes.com. The recipe I used was slightly different; ie, it called for canned creamed corn rather than fresh. But otherwise it’s nearly identical. Mmmm, it was so good. Kids didn’t care for it, but Joe and I devoured it.

2 ears corn
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Set a box grater in a large bowl. Using the large holes, grate corn kernels (and their "milk") off the cobs. Discard cobs.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, milk, and corn. Bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk sugar and egg yolks until pale and thick. When cream mixture reaches a simmer, slowly ladle 1/2 cup of it into egg mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat with another 1/2-cup ladleful. Reduce heat to low, whisk warmed egg mixture into saucepan, and cook, whisking, until mixture thickens a bit, about 5 minutes.

3. Pour mixture into a medium bowl, stir in vanilla, cover with plastic wrap (letting the wrap sit directly on the mixture's surface), and chill at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

4. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight plastic container and freeze up to overnight.

Nutritional information (per ½ cup serving)
Calories: 242 (60% from fat)
Protein: 4.7g
Fat: 16g (sat 8.7)
Carbohydrate: 23g
Fiber: 1g
Sodium: 43mg
Cholesterol: 153mg